So much for that franchise. Disney has bought the Muppets. Worse, "Disney has deemed irreverence as one of the five core equities of the Muppets (humorous, heartwarming, puppet-inspired and topical being the other four)."

In other words, they're doomed. Sigh...

Not too long ago, industry statistics tucked Taiwan away in the insignificant backwater known as "Rest of the World," far behind the US, Japan, and Europe. Not anymore. Now the island boasts the world's largest foundry (TSMC), the world's largest notebook computer supplier (Quanta, which supplies HP and Dell), and a huge number of independent assembly and design houses. Business Week looks at the tense, but essential, collaboration between Taiwan and mainland China.

The current issue of LensWork has an excellent collection of tips for photographers, most of which apply to any creative pursuit. (PDF file.)

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